topic Re: Editing 2D truss lines in Modeling

Editing 2D truss lines

dguadarr — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 19:18:04 GMT

Hi, I would like to know if there is a possible way to edit a truss showing 3 lines on a floor plan as 1 line only?

In the first picture I attached, I'm showing how each truss has 3 lines, but it would be ideal to show only 1 line (any of the 3) for the roof framing plans.

The second picture is just a close up.

The third picture shows how I would ideally like to represent trusses with only 1 line. The ones circled in red are the truss I'd like to edit and the black circle are the regular joist centerline option from the line tool.

I could simply draw one single line and hide the truss in order to represent the joist centerline, but if the truss could be edited the way I mentioned above, that would be better to avoid having additional regular lines.

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

SenecaDesignLLC — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 19:43:50 GMT

I just use the truss object I wrote, then I get 3d as well.

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

archigreen — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 19:45:25 GMT

Hi,

Of course there is a way to draw structural plans without 2D lines.

on 2D representation select the option AXIS, Select the right line type (Dash - Dotted).

Then, in Model View Options select BEAM: AXIS ONLY and other parameters you may need like schematic stair, etc.

I hope this helps.

Drop me a line if you need further instructions.

Best,

ArchiGreen

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

Steve Jepson — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 00:18:11 GMT

Of all the different ways that can be used to make a quick truss from a truss manufactures .pdf , I almost always end up modeling the trusses using trusses with a slab and the magic wand and the truss profiles provided by the manufacture. Save it from the top view as an object. If you like you can add a centerline to it in plan view and save it as an object again. Then you will have a line you can display or not by changing the pen used for it or by changing the line type to one that will display nothing. There is probably no good reason to be showing a line at the side of the truss - but you could. Tip - if you do add a centerline to the truss object, make it a little short on each end so it does not obscure the end lines of the truss if make it the same color as the background so it won't show up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK-5a8hL6tg I am not a big fan of the Truss Maker tool because it is not very convenient to be drawing the centerline of each chord of the truss when I am using the two-line profile drawings from the manufacture. I can't get it to make the tails slope correctly, has extra lines I don't want to see.... stuff like that. The fastest way to turn the centerline back on is to Reset the object to original settings.

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

dguadarr — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 14:47:25 GMT

thank you for your response

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

dguadarr — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 14:48:22 GMT

thanks for your response, unfortunately the truss object cant be edited to show as 1 line in the plans.

I appreciate it though

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

dguadarr — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 14:49:23 GMT

I appreciate your help. Unfortunately, the truss object does not allow some type of editing to show 1 line in floor plan view.

Thanks for your response

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

SenecaDesignLLC — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 15:44:55 GMT

Lit me fix a couple things on my truss object and Ill post it for you it has what I believe you are after

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

SenecaDesignLLC — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 16:54:27 GMT

Here is a link to my truss object, it's older so expect some bugs, but I use it on all my projects almost with out issue other than some more complex forms.

https://bit.ly/BIMRithmTrussV1

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

Red — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 02:03:49 GMT

I use a similar method, however, I use Complex Profiles. Once I get the design I want, I will use the beam tool and extrude it the width of the truss member.

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

Steve Jepson — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 21:32:17 GMT

?? Yes it does. You probably just got bored watching the video 🙂 before you saw how a line that you can add to the truss object can be toggled on and off. ? You can put a line for that anywhere you want - I showed one for use as a centerline. If for some reason you want that line on edge of the truss, you can put some lines on each side, or even both sides if you want. And of course, you can add lines for any purpose you like, to ANY truss object in this same way. If you are modeling an entire set of the truss profiles provided by the manufacture, they way I have shown how to do that +/- is a pretty common way of doing it. I have not seen a better way to do it that. If your are modeling your own truss profiles, you can still add what ever lines you want to your objects, where ever you want them to be.

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

dguadarr — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 17:55:16 GMT

Thank you, Steve. This was very helpful.

I gave it another try and I was able to create a truss object using the slab and magic wand tool. Your video was direct on what steps to take, so my final results were the same you've shown on the video.

Creating a truss using the slab and magic wand gives me the opportunity to customize the object -unlike the truss object tool provided on Archicad which allows an easy height & width edit- I'd have to draw lines from the beginning at the height & width I want the truss to look like (2x4,2x6,2x8).

Something I did in order to hide the extra lines and show the truss as 1 middle line, was to use the same fill from the steps on your video and extended them all four ways (up, down, left and right) to cover the lines I didn't want to show in floor plan (see screenshot), then I simply selected the fill and assigned a "no line" background to it.

This was a good way to create a truss. So thank you again for your help!!

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

dguadarr — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 17:55:38 GMT

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

dguadarr — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 17:57:52 GMT

Complex Profiles is the next step for me.

Thanks!

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

Red — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 18:23:54 GMT

It will not help achieve the centerline since it is extruding in the direction of the centerline; however, it might be the easiest and/or quickest for a complex truss design. I previously saved slabs as objects, but I felt this was a faster method and made editing them a lot quicker.

Re: Editing 2D truss lines

Steve Jepson — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 21:30:37 GMT